Battle Over Insuring Children
Wednesday October 3, 2007
Although President Bush has veteod a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the battle for who should get aid is not over.
On Monday, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire (D) announced that Washington -- along with Illinois, New York and Maryland -- are planning to sue the federal government in federal court in New York next week. The state of New Jersey has already filed a similar lawsuit.
New York Governor Elliot Spitzer (D) reports that Arizona, California and New Hampshire will also participate, either as plaintiffs or by filing supporting briefs. The states argue that the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS ) imposed new rules that block states from expanding their children’s health insurance programs without going through proper rulemaking procedures.
Stay tuned.
Comments
http://www.floppingaces.net/2007/10/07/the-poor-schip-kid/index.html
You can read about the “poor” SCHIP kid above. The poor family who send their kids to private school @ $20,000 each per/yr, own their own business, just did an expensive kitchen remodeling with granite counters, expensive home at 3,000 ft. + is worth around $485,000…
Yeah, I can think of better ways to spend my hard earned money…
Stop giving the illegal immigrants FREE health care and take care of the working AMERICANS!!! I am a mother of two and work very hard as does my husband we can no longer afford the rising cost for our children, however, I every Mexican, illegal or not are coming to our country and getting welfare, FREE health to reproduce in our country!!!!!! CLOSE THE BORDERS and take care of the Americans who were born here and spent the entire life putting back into OUR COUNTRY!
To the House of Representatives:
I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 3963, the
‘‘Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of
2007.’’ Like its predecessor, H.R. 976, this bill does not put poor
children first and it moves our country’s health care system in the
wrong direction. Ultimately, our Nation’s goal should be to move
children who have no health insurance to private coverage—not to
move children who already have private health insurance to government
coverage. As a result, I cannot sign this legislation.
The purpose of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) was to help low-income children whose families were
struggling, but did not qualify for Medicaid, to get the health care
coverage that they needed. My Administration strongly supports
reauthorization of SCHIP. That is why in February of this year I
proposed a 5-year reauthorization of SCHIP and a 20 percent increase
in funding for the program.
Some in the Congress have sought to spend more on SCHIP than
my budget proposal. In response, I told the Congress that I was
willing to work with its leadership to find any additional funds necessary
to put poor children first, without raising taxes.
The leadership in the Congress has refused to meet with my Administration’s
representatives. Although they claim to have made
‘‘substantial changes’’ to the legislation, H.R. 3963 is essentially
identical to the legislation that I vetoed in October. The legislation
would still shift SCHIP away from its original purpose by covering
adults. It would still include coverage of many individuals with incomes
higher than the median income in the United States. It
would still result in government health care for approximately 2
million children who already have private health care coverage.
The new bill, like the old bill, does not responsibly offset its new
and unnecessary spending, and it still raises taxes on working
Americans.
Because the Congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical
bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill I previously
vetoed, I must veto this legislation, too. I continue to stand ready
to work with the leaders of the Congress, on a bipartisan basis, to
reauthorize the SCHIP program in a way that puts poor children
first; moves adults out of a program meant for children; and does
not abandon the bipartisan tradition that marked the original enactment
of the SCHIP program. In the interim, I call on the Congress
to extend funding under the current program to ensure no
disruption of services to needy children.
GEORGE W. BUSH.
THE WHITE HOUSE, December 12, 2007.